Past Commentary by a Common Terry
Why was David so special?
June 14, 2026
Saul was a failure as Israel’s first king. He started well but finished poorly. He presumed to act before God led and he assumed authority and roles not granted to him. He made decisions that contradicted God’s instructions and then not only defended them but justified them.
All of this, by God’s providential hand, eventually led David to the throne. He would be the standard that future kings would be measured by. More than a dozen times in the books of the Kings and Chronicles, a king is compared to David. He kept the commandments of God like his father David...or he did not walk in the way of his father David. David would be one of the three great men of Jewish history. Abraham was the father of the nation. Moses was the deliverer of the law and covenant. David was the great king. Jesus would be called the Son of David close to 20 times in the New Testament, as well as the One that has the key of David, being the Root of David, and the descendant of David (those last three are all in the book of Revelation).
When Paul mentioned David in his sermon in Acts 13 at Antioch of Pisidia, he quoted God’s view of David. “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22) That’s such a statement! Why is David a man after God’s heart? The only detail in this text is that David did all the will of God. That is a direct contradiction to how Saul had ruled as the first king.
And yet, we are perplexed at the label. Certainly, David was amazing from his first introduction in I Samuel 16 to his death in I Kings 2. His devotion to God and humility in that relationship is evident. But he also committed huge sins, some of which led to the deaths of the innocent he ruled. But “a man after (God’s) heart?!”
Why?
It is a massive undertaking, to study the life of David. Not only is the narrative long and detailed, but the supplemental material is extensive. As I mentioned, he is introduced in I Samuel 16. For the next 42 chapters (the rest of I Samuel, all of II Samuel, and the first two chapters of I Kings), he is either mentioned or extensively featured in 41 of them. The only chapter that does not mention him is I Samuel 31, the last chapter of the book. This chapter describes the deaths of Saul and three of his sons. Only Moses is as extensively featured in the Old Testament as is David.
To answer the question of why David is the only person in the Bible to be a man after God’s own heart takes a committed study.
But that is only half the material. Once we have read the narrative of the life of David, we must turn to the Psalms. There are 150 chapters and David wrote half of them. It is there his heart is poured out and printed on the pages of the Bible. His deepest fears and his greatest joys. In one chapter he cries out to God and in the next he worships and praises Him. It seems in every circumstance of his life, his response was to write another psalm, capturing his gratitude and submission to the Father.
We return to the statement of Acts 13:22 when God was so pleased with David because he did “all (God’s) will.” Even when he sinned—terrible sins—his response and repentance kept the will of God. David was so far from perfect that we can still relate to him. He was so despondent and sad sometimes in the Psalms that he captures our own thoughts and hearts. His regret over his sin, written about in Psalm 51, is the same regret we feel when we are heartbroken over our own failures.
He did not argue with God or justify his sins. He accepted God’s judgment and punishment, realizing he brought the misery on himself. He was totally devoted to the Law, even when he broke it, just like we are devoted to God but still fail and break from His will. The faith journey isn’t simply about what we have done, but what we will do next.
A final thought on why David was so special to God’s heart: he did not dabble in idolatry at all. He was devoted to the One True God and held the first of the Ten Commandments in highest regard: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.
To have a God goal in life, we must first commit to the absolute place of honor we give God.
All of this, by God’s providential hand, eventually led David to the throne. He would be the standard that future kings would be measured by. More than a dozen times in the books of the Kings and Chronicles, a king is compared to David. He kept the commandments of God like his father David...or he did not walk in the way of his father David. David would be one of the three great men of Jewish history. Abraham was the father of the nation. Moses was the deliverer of the law and covenant. David was the great king. Jesus would be called the Son of David close to 20 times in the New Testament, as well as the One that has the key of David, being the Root of David, and the descendant of David (those last three are all in the book of Revelation).
When Paul mentioned David in his sermon in Acts 13 at Antioch of Pisidia, he quoted God’s view of David. “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22) That’s such a statement! Why is David a man after God’s heart? The only detail in this text is that David did all the will of God. That is a direct contradiction to how Saul had ruled as the first king.
And yet, we are perplexed at the label. Certainly, David was amazing from his first introduction in I Samuel 16 to his death in I Kings 2. His devotion to God and humility in that relationship is evident. But he also committed huge sins, some of which led to the deaths of the innocent he ruled. But “a man after (God’s) heart?!”
Why?
It is a massive undertaking, to study the life of David. Not only is the narrative long and detailed, but the supplemental material is extensive. As I mentioned, he is introduced in I Samuel 16. For the next 42 chapters (the rest of I Samuel, all of II Samuel, and the first two chapters of I Kings), he is either mentioned or extensively featured in 41 of them. The only chapter that does not mention him is I Samuel 31, the last chapter of the book. This chapter describes the deaths of Saul and three of his sons. Only Moses is as extensively featured in the Old Testament as is David.
To answer the question of why David is the only person in the Bible to be a man after God’s own heart takes a committed study.
But that is only half the material. Once we have read the narrative of the life of David, we must turn to the Psalms. There are 150 chapters and David wrote half of them. It is there his heart is poured out and printed on the pages of the Bible. His deepest fears and his greatest joys. In one chapter he cries out to God and in the next he worships and praises Him. It seems in every circumstance of his life, his response was to write another psalm, capturing his gratitude and submission to the Father.
We return to the statement of Acts 13:22 when God was so pleased with David because he did “all (God’s) will.” Even when he sinned—terrible sins—his response and repentance kept the will of God. David was so far from perfect that we can still relate to him. He was so despondent and sad sometimes in the Psalms that he captures our own thoughts and hearts. His regret over his sin, written about in Psalm 51, is the same regret we feel when we are heartbroken over our own failures.
He did not argue with God or justify his sins. He accepted God’s judgment and punishment, realizing he brought the misery on himself. He was totally devoted to the Law, even when he broke it, just like we are devoted to God but still fail and break from His will. The faith journey isn’t simply about what we have done, but what we will do next.
A final thought on why David was so special to God’s heart: he did not dabble in idolatry at all. He was devoted to the One True God and held the first of the Ten Commandments in highest regard: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me.
To have a God goal in life, we must first commit to the absolute place of honor we give God.